A giant floating playground is set to open in Blackpool next week, with an inflatable obstacle course, paddle boarding, and loads more.
Wild Shore already has sites in Delamere and Dundee and is now branching out again.
Taking over the old Blackpool Wake Park site, the huge ‘water-based adventure hub’ will take the plunge and open on Wednesday 29 May.
As well as the inflatable aqua park, where visitors can slide, bounce, and clamber over a bouncy obstacle course, there’ll be loads more water-based activities.
The adrenaline-charged activities also include wakeboarding using an overhead cable which pulls you over the surface of the lake.
ADVERTISEMENT
They even guarantee that if you can’t stand up on your first session, with the help of instructors, you’ll get your money back.
There are stand up paddleboards you can rent to explore the water, or there are fully-guided sessions which will take you on a tour of the lake.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wild Shore Blackpool is a new water park that’s opening this month. Credit: Wild Shore
And then if you’ve always fancied trying wild open-water swimming, Wild Shore Blackpool offers a safe and secure environment for a dip, with safety instructors on SUP boards and rest pontoons half way around each course.
The Aqua Park itself has a number of Ninja Warrior-style features including Tire Run, Ninja-Jump and Eagles Nest to test your balance, agility, and bravery.
The new Wild Shore Blackpool water park is located at Ream Hills Holiday Park.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s set to open on 29 May – you can find out more and book a ticket here.
Manchester Airport offers reasoning as it’s named the UK’s worst airport for flight delays
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has been revealed as the UK’s worst airport for flight delays, according to the latest figures.
But now, the airport has offered its reasoning in defence – saying it was ‘out of [our] control’.
According to annual analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the Press Association (PA), as reported on in many major news outlets like BBC, Sky News, and ITV, Manchester Airport came in last place – with flights running, on average, 19 and a half minutes behind schedule last year.
Manchester Airport – which is the third busiest airport in the country, and the only airport outside of London to have two runways – was used by more than 32 million people last year, and despite its placing at the bottom of the rankings again, did manage to at least secure a 30-second improvement compared to 2024.
The analysis took into account scheduled and chartered departures from the 23 commercial UK airports, with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year, and cancellations were not included.
These latest figures arrive as Manchester Airport is currently in the middle of revamping Terminal 3, and after having recently completed an extensive transformation of Terminal 2.
Manchester Airport offers reasoning as it’s named the UK’s worst airport for flight delays / Credit: MAG
Offering a statement in defence of its placement in the CAA rankings this year, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “Punctuality is affected by factors that are outside of an airport’s control.
“The two most significant factors contributing to delays in the last year have been industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe, and the weather.
“These were exacerbated by airspace restrictions above conflict zones meaning airports with significant long-haul networks, like Manchester, were more significantly affected than others.”
Top 10 worst UK airports for flight delays
Manchester – 19 minutes, 30 seconds
Birmingham – 18 minutes, 42 seconds
Bournemouth – 17 minutes, 18 seconds
Southampton – 16 minutes, 36 seconds
Gatwick – 16 minutes, 24 seconds
Newcastle – 15 minutes, 48 seconds
Leeds Bradford – 15 minutes, 36 seconds
Stansted – 15 minutes, 36 seconds
Edinburgh – 15 minutes, 24 seconds
Teesside – 15 minutes, 6 seconds
Other airports finding themself towards the bottom end of the rankings include Birmingham, with averaged delays of 18 minutes 42 seconds, Bournemouth, Southampton, and Gatwick.
Northern airports like Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, and Teesside also rank low.
On the flip side, however, in a win for the North West, Liverpool John Lennon Airport had the most punctual flights out of any major UK airport – with an average delay of nine minutes and 24 seconds.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
Travel & Tourism
Manor House Hotel & Spa – The magical garden spa near Manchester with TWO swim-up bars
Daisy Jackson
There’s an increasing number of garden spas popping up around the UK, where you can soak and relax out in the open air.
But a lot of them are missing the key ingredient – the gardens.
That’s what makes Manor House Hotel & Spa over in Cheshire so special. It feels like it’s been built as garden first, spa second, in the way that pools and hot tubs seem to have been slotted in between established trees and flower beds and shrubs.
It’s like stumbling onto the set of a romantic period drama, but with state-of-the-art spa facilities concealed into the grounds. I’m half expecting a sopping wet Colin Firth to emerge from a hot tub.
And although the square footage of the garden spa is relatively small, it’s this clever landscaping that makes it feel like a never-ending maze where every turn reveals a new place to lie down.
There are covered, swinging beds in a herb garden. A sauna concealed as a potting shed. Private bookable hot tubs behind a hedge.
And then the real whimsy – the secret garden. Opened just last year, this corner of the spa is home to a blisteringly turquoise heated pool, surrounded by charming sage green ‘sheds’ (which are actually a series of cosy indoor relaxation pods).
The Secret GardenOne of two cold plunge poolsThe relaxation sheds in the secret gardenA huge heated poolThe Secret Garden’s sauna
There’s a second swim-up bar here, because why stop at one, a cold plunge pool with spring flowers wrapped around it, a lawn for sunbathing if you’re lucky, and a traditional Finnish sauna overlooking it all.
It doesn’t stop there – weave along the footpaths and you’ll come across a sunken, circular hydrotherapy pool, a cosy summer house with noise-cancelling headphones you can plug in to, a gently heated panoramic laconium, hammocks, squishy sunbeds, swing seats, and so much more.
The adjective that keeps coming to mind is ‘pretty’, but that almost feels too flippant for how gorgeous the spa garden is.
And you might think with it being an outdoor garden spa that it would be a waste of time in bad weather – but you’re wrong.
Manor House has built subtle shelters which look more like garden pagodas over a lot of the facilities here, including part of the main pool and swim-up bar, and most of the double lounge beds.
The main pool and swim-up barThe Potting Shed saunaA classic cold plunge tubThe hydrotherapy pool
But even beyond that, your classic spa facilities like the saunas and salt steam chamber have been constructed in out-buildings, safe from the infamous North West weather, AND there’s a sizeable indoor pool, sauna and steam room back inside the main hotel building.
The metal cold plunge tub is exposed to the elements – but if you’re being brave enough to dunk in this, a little drizzle is the least of your worries.
They’ve got an enormous list of treatments on offer here, whether you want to be scrubbed and rubbed into a new person, or give your skin a real boost with a facial. Once you’re done with your treatment, Manor House has built a cosy relaxation lounge, where you can pull the curtains across your own private booth to sip a cup of herbal tea and unwind.
Private relaxation booths for post-treatmentMezze lunchDinner in the StablesBreakfast the next dayThe Salt ShedDrinks from The Bothy Bar, a swim-up bar in the secret gardenThe indoor poolThe Stables restaurantBedroomsCovered beds in the herb garden
Alongside all that relaxing, a typical spa package at Manor House may include an afternoon tea, a brunch, or a mezze platter lunch, with a glass of fizz served to you in the Pool House.
And if you go for the overnight, you’ll be sinking into a huge plush bed, full from a refined British gastropub dinner in the hotel’s cosy restaurant space, The Stables.
Manor House is currently running a full Spring Renewal Spa Escape, for the ultimate taste of everything that’s on offer while the gardens are in full bloom.
The Manor House Spring Renewal Spa Escape package
An overnight hotel stay
A 60-minute Collagen Renewal Ritual (a soothing, exfoliating back massage, followed by a luxurious collagen facial)
Full access to the spa, with 18 spa experiences, on both days of your stay
A delicious three-course dinner in the Stables restaurant
Daisy Jackson -
20th May 2024 
